Card-sorting tools
MUX 1: Benny Skogberg

Why?
Card-sorting is a great way to learn how
users, or prospective users, of a website
perceive the logical relationships among
the various elements of the site.

Relationships matter
Users - Logical Relationships - Elements

Relationships matter
Users - Logical Relationships - Elements

How?
1. Define the cards to be sorted.
2. Have representative users sort the cards.
3. Analyze the results.

Open & Closed
Open Card Sort Closed Card Sort
• No Labels • Labels
• Near project start • Near end of project
Project Timeline

Tools
Webb Windows Macintosh Linux
Free
Open source:
License

xSort for Mac

d y
S t u
o f
e ct
bj
O

d y
S t u
o f
e ct
bj
O

Create test

1. Define cards

Test at Runtime

Test at Runtime
2. Representative
user {

Test end

3. Analyze the Result

Resultat

Resultat
?

Cluster Tree?

Cluster Analysis
Cluster analysis or clustering is the
assignment of a set of observations into
subsets (called clusters) so that observations
in the same cluster are similar in some
sense. Clustering is a method of
unsupervised learning, and a common
technique for statistical data analysis used in
many fields, including machine learning, data
mining, pattern recognition, image analysis

Cluster Analysis
Cards that join together sooner are more
similar to each other than those that join
together later

Cluster Analysis
Cards that join together sooner are more
similar to each other than those that join
together later
Join sooner = more similar

Gestalt principles
✤ Figure
✤ Similarity
✤ Proximity
✤ Closure
✤ Continuity
✤ Symmetry
DePaul University, Chicago: http://facweb.cs.depaul.edu/sgrais/gestalt_principles.htm

Gestalt principles
✤ Figure Similar?
✤ Similarity
✤ Proximity
✤ Closure
✤ Continuity
✤ Symmetry
Anders Borg Vincent Vega
DePaul University, Chicago: http://facweb.cs.depaul.edu/sgrais/gestalt_principles.htm

Cluster Tree

Cluster Tree

Cluster Tree
Dissimilarity [Olikhet]

Result
Dissimilarity [Olikhet]

Next step: Labeling
• Är student
• Vill studera
• Hitta Schema
• Studentportalen

Next step: Labeling
?
• Är student
• Vill studera
• Hitta Schema
• Studentportalen

Card Sorting Tools
thx